Blue Wolf Capital Partners and Atlas Holdings have reached an agreement to acquire a controlling interest in Twin Rivers Paper Company, a portfolio company of Brookfield Asset Management.
Twin Rivers is a specialty paper company that manufactures packaging, label and publishing products, with mill operations in Madawaska, ME and Edmundston, New Brunswick. Twin Rivers also operates a lumber sawmill located in Plaster Rock, New Brunswick. The company is headquartered in South Portland, ME (www.twinriverspaper.com).
Brookfield Asset Management formed Twin Rivers Paper Company in April 2010 to acquire the specialty paper assets of Fraser Papers as part of a financial restructuring. At the time, Brookfield Asset Management had a 70% equity interest in Fraser Papers.
“Twin Rivers produces specialty papers and lumber products that are well regarded throughout the industry. Our plan is to build on these strengths as we seek to position the operations for long-term success and as a key contributor in the revitalization of the forest products sector in Maine and New Brunswick,” said Adam Blumenthal, Managing Partner of Blue Wolf.
Blue Wolf invests in companies in which effective management of relationships with complex constituencies, such as government and labor, can change organizations and create value. The firm’s investment criteria are minimum revenues of $25 million; minimum transaction size of $20 million; and a minimum investment size of $10 million. Blue Wolf focuses its efforts on companies based in and doing the bulk of their business in the United States and Canada. The firm is headquartered in New York (www.blue-wolf.com).
“With the active support, direction and guidance our firms bring, we believe we can provide Twin Rivers with additional resources to address its capital needs, cost structure, market exposure and other critical operational challenges presented by the highly competitive forest products industry,” said Tim Fazio, Managing Partner of Atlas Holdings.
Atlas Holdings is a private equity firm which invests in businesses undergoing complex financial and operational challenges. Sectors of interest include building materials; capital equipment; energy; industrial services; packaging, pulp, paper, and tissue; steel; and logistics, supply chain management and distribution. The firm typically invests up to $100 million in companies with enterprise values up to $500 million and EBITDAs up to $100 million. Atlas Holdings was founded in January 2002 and is based in Greenwich, CT (www.atlasholdingsllc.com).
Brookfield Asset Management is a global alternative asset manager with over $175 billion in assets under management. The firm has headquarters in Toronto and New York (www.brookfield.com).
© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 5-22-13